Why I decided to run for office

For many a year, I was the angry protester. The man who was quick to get a permanent marker and a white cardboard, ready to write some angry message as a grievance to the government. I still see a place for that kind of behavior, but I eventually realized how fruitless it can be. U.S Treasurer Alexander Heig once said, “Let them march and protest all they want, so long as they pay their taxes.” I got sick of the rhetoric, “The Democrats are to blame! The Republicans are to blame!”. I got tired of parties and political ideologies, I just wanted to be left-alone by overreaching government while making sure that all who live here are protected and safe when need be regardless of who is in office! I could criticize the liberal just as much as the conservative. Two wings to the same bird that makes America fly!

I have worked as a paralegal in bankruptcy, I have volunteered as a youth boxing coach, and have been a staunch lobbyist on issues like Family Law Reform, Foreign policy reform, and civil liberties abuses. One evening, a friend of mine said, “Why don’t you run for office? Just get the signatures, get on the ballot, and see what happens!”

So, based on a dare, I collected the signatures (which was tougher than I thought it would be), and got on the ballot! My main issues that I am running on are:

Family law reform. : Default 50/50 custody, child support reform, protect drivers licenses. Appoint equal representation to both parents, give more prominence to father’s role in development of kids. Give pro-choice to both genders.

Cut waste: No more spending thousands of dollars on luxury toilet seats or pork-barrel projects like the Nashville Sounds Stadium.

Protect Free-Speech: The entire state will be a “free-speech zone”. I may not agree with what you say, but i’ll defend to the death your right to say it! Political correctness or fear of speaking because of a potential backlash from unfair laws has no place in our nation. Whether it be good or bad comments being made, such comments encourage debate and progress! So long as no criminal threats are made, you may say and believe whatever you please!

Reform Healthcare: Bring transparency to healthcare prices, open up the market, bring true competition into healthcare to cut down prices. We have to stop the large insurance companies from dehumanizing our healthcare system and falsely inflating prices.

Restore liberty: Restore voting rights to felons, protect the right to travel (stop suspending driver’s licenses over debts.) , end civil asset forfeiture corruption, reform the expungment process and create program that reduce repeat incarceration. The US has the largest prison population on Earth (for-profit), we must stop this.

Utilize our National Guard: Our National Guard should be used to protect this land, and to deal with domestic issues, I would support legislation to keep it that way. These men and women do not belong in overseas deployments unless absolutely necessary.

Gun rights: I believe in property rights. The 2nd amendment isn’t about hunting or sport, but about protecting individuals and the nation at large. The citizenry is the militia! I am not a member of the NRA or any other organization, however, I do believe that our mass-shooting problem is not a gun problem, but a problem stemming from diet, media, fatherless homes, lack of proper socializing, lack of access to healthcare.

Protect Education: Give tax breaks to homeschoolers, expand individual spending accounts for those who want to put their tax dollars elsewhere, give parents more choice in choosing which schools to put their kids in!

Sales Tax reform: Tennessee has a huge surplus in revenue because our state has the highest sales tax rate in the nation! Let’s get it lowered!

Reduce Regulations: We should not have occupational licenses on jobs that do not need it. Unless you are a doctor, lawyer, or have some dangerous job that requires extensive training that could potentially ruin someone’s life, the government should not be charging expensive fees or requiring licenses. They are simply revenue generating schemes!

Help Veterans: Create low-income housing facilities specially designed for veterans

Protect the lives of Firefighters and Police: Firefighters and police are often exposed to cancer causing agents and harmful on the job conditions. These civil servants deserve grant money for on the job related injuries, especially after a long-time service record. While there is a lot of “anti-police” sentiment in the news media today, I believe that the majority of our MNPD officers seek to work with integrity. Blame the law, not necessarily the enforcers all of the time!

Criminal Justice Reform: Favor rehabilitation rather than incarceration. It costs about $35,000 per year to house an inmate. Let’s get the private contractors out of our prisons and jails too! If our judges can find ways to solve legal issues without jail sentences or hefty fines, then why not! Few people desire to go to prison or jail. Let us focus on helping our citizens to avoid jail rather than beating them further down. A society is only as strong as its weakest links.

Housing: Keep property taxes low and use other methods to keep native Nashvillians from being “priced out” of their homes.

Since getting on the ballot, I have met with police officers, unions, single-parents, Democrats, Libertarians, Republicans, the LGBTQ community, investors, incumbent politicians, veterans, spent time in tent-city with the homeless, and did some extensive traveling to Washington D.C and New York City. I am not a liberal or a conservative(Atleast not in the political sense), I am simple a man who believes in the Constitution to the utmost degree and believes that all men and women should have an equal opportunity to pursue happiness unmolested while still enjoying protection under the law with a unifying love of the American culture of liberty. My personal beliefs stop where your rights begin! If you aren’t harming or stealing, I have no right to impede upon you! Regardless of my personal opinion of your life choices!

These are just a few of the ideas I have! Instead of being angry at how corrupt the world is, I want to be a part of the solution! I want to be invited at the table of power and honestly, empathetically, and sympathetically discuss solutions to our nation’s greatest issues with both liberals and conservatives as a non-partisan independent. I am proud to be an American, and I truly believe that this nation attracts the best and brightest from all around. If we put our differences aside and focus on the major issues, I concretely believe that we can find real solutions as a team. This is a unique nation that is home to many races, religions, and personal ideologies. And it is because we welcome such diversity with a common culture of liberty, that America can hold onto it’s title of “Greatest Nation on Earth.”

Despite the complicated lives of our founding fathers and the times they grew up in, I truly believe that these men, especially Mr. Thomas Jefferson, truly did foresee and desire a place with ultimate freedom. Now that we have the technology and education to expand upon those original ideals, I believe we can make that dream come true! Combining ancient traditions with progressive advances in technology.